Okay welcome everyone to this meditation and just as usual let's just start our walk towards quiet.
Just notice,
Notice how your breathing is.
Notice whether your breath is short,
Jaggy,
Deep,
Long.
Just notice.
And let's not try and change anything at the moment,
Just notice how it is for you.
And just allow yourself to focus on some rounds of inhalation and exhalation.
And as you focus on that you may sense settling down.
You may sense a feeling of coming into yourself.
Perhaps your day has been very busy or perhaps your day has not been busy externally but you've been very busy internally.
However your day has been just allow yourself to settle in.
Allow yourself to really enjoy your breath.
What an amazing thing the breath is.
Such a personal need.
Such a unique experience for everyone breathing in and out.
And yet such a connection to everything around us.
That sense of breathing in and breathing out.
We could flip it and imagine the world is breathing in and breathing out.
Every inhale of the world is our exhale.
Every exhale of the world is our inhale.
And just notice how you are.
Are your shoulders tense?
Are you holding them high or are they following gravity and are you letting them sink?
As you let your shoulders sink,
What's happening with your back,
Your lower back,
Your tummy area?
Can you reach that point of holding yourself in a supported way yet with no tension?
Supporting yourself but so lightly,
So easily,
There's no tension.
And how are you sitting?
Or maybe you're lying down.
How are you connected into the earth?
Through a chair,
A cushion,
A rug.
Through your feet.
Just notice that connection and consciously relax.
Relax your feet.
Relax your ankles.
Relax your shins and your calves.
And you can use your breath to help you with this.
Every time you breathe in,
You can hold the intention of holding yourself,
Supporting yourself so easily,
So lightly.
And on the exhale,
You are inviting any tension you might be holding in your body to leave,
To release itself.
Like smoke rising from a campfire,
Like steam rising from a pot.
We're turning ourselves away from the freneticism of boiling and we're just taking ourselves to a soft and gentle simmer.
Supporting ourselves with our muscles but so easily,
So lightly,
No tension.
Breathing in an invitation for ease.
And exhaling any tensions that are held.
Noticing your calf muscles into your knees,
Allowing your knees to relax.
Coming up to your thighs,
Allowing your thighs to relax.
Allowing yourself to relax into your cushions or chairs.
On the next breath,
You invite in a relaxation for all the organs within your pelvic cavity.
Just allowing everything to come off the boil and just simmer gently.
Allowing yourself to vibrate almost in tune with those around you,
Whether they're near or far.
Relaxing the muscles of your stomach,
Your lower tummy,
Your upper tummy.
Relaxing the muscles in your lower back.
If you like,
Take a big deep breath.
Exhale.
And really allow your chest to relax,
Your lungs to relax while still working away but so easily,
Nothing is an effort.
Coming up to your shoulders,
Allowing that relaxation to flow down your arms.
If you're sitting with your palms facing up,
Just allowing your hands to become heavier almost.
Allowing them to sink into your lap or by your side.
And as you allow this relaxation to take hold,
You can sense a lightning,
A lightning in your heart,
A lightning across your chest area.
Breathing in deeply and on the exhale,
Just inviting all tension to leave as much as it's ready to.
Noticing your neck,
Your head,
Your forehead,
Your eyes,
Your mouth,
Your ears,
Your jaw.
Is there any tightness there?
Or do you only notice any tightness when you draw your attention to it?
Just take a moment to invite an ease within your neck as well.
It can so easily hold your head up with grace.
And allow your brain to ease,
Allow any thoughts to slow down,
Allow yourself not to get hooked by any list making or stories or anything that's going on in your busy brain.
Invite it to relax.
And just bring your attention back to your breath and notice how is it now?
Notice the quality of your breath.
If it felt jaggy before,
Does it now feel more velvety?
Has it lengthened,
Deepened,
Or has it become shorter?
Just notice without any judgement.
And before we end this meditation,
Just take a moment to thank yourself for the attention you've shown,
For the care you've shown,
As much as you've been able to.
And on the next couple of breaths just walk yourself back up to the surface.
Keeping this sense of lightness,
Relaxation,
Of ease in your muscles.
And whenever you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
Well done.
